Wanting a break from the humdrum of mundane day-to-day life? Need something more than what modern-day society’s injustices have to offer? From perilous, anomic landscapes to an odd sense of liberation from typical civilization, the worlds of these dystopian anime settings will surely leave you wanting more of these enticingly decrepit societies. With the main conflicts typically surrounding man-versus-nature, the variety of clashes within the dystopian genre give a healthy dose of man-versus-man and man-versus-nature, too.

Although these worlds are the outcomes of harsh realities like war, the destruction of nature, and the breakdown of society, it’s strangely comforting to see things from these different points of worldview. Because, in the end, even when the world itself seems to crumble around us, there still tends to be even the tiniest sense of hope left alive and thriving amidst the chaos. But what better way to experience a reprieve from our own conflict-wracked culture than binging alternative anime universes that may have it worse?

With humanity nearly slaughtered to extinction by towering humanoids called Titans, the remains of mankind hide in a walled city from the flesh-eating monsters. But after a century, they break through, setting off the events of Attack on Titan. Now humanity faces the threat of extinction once more. Having bore witness to his own mother succumbing to the Titans’ rampage, Eren Yeager devotes his life to eradicating the monsters. Followed by his adoptive sister Mikasa Akerman and childhood friend Armin Arlert, Eren enlists into the Survey Corps, a military unit that combats Titans outside the city walls. Unbeknownst to Eren, his future is about to change when he learns the secrets revolving around the Titans’ very existence.